However, there were too few octopuses prepared, with less than ten, so they were set aside for now, but Master Chai had prepared plenty of green crabs, which weren’t particularly large, nor were they any butter crab species.
Each of these green crabs weighed roughly two to three taels, and locally they weren’t very valuable. If the fishermen sold them themselves, they would only fetch about 30 yuan per jin. Today, Master Chai brought up almost 10 jin.
When he usually chartered yachts for other bosses to go sea fishing for fun, he made only around five to six hundred yuan a day, but Boss Chen told him yesterday that as long as he took good care of Lin Yang, he could make a thousand today.
Being able to earn a salary almost double the usual, it was only right that Master Chai prepared extra bait.
Meanwhile, Lin Yang began to hook the crabs. Many people have never done this, as hooking crabs requires skill. It needs to be done from the rear end of the crab, inserting from the side and pulling through the other side. This is to facilitate pulling when a fish is on the line and to not affect the crab’s motion underwater.
"OK!"
With the crab hooked, Lin Yang tossed it into the water, then opened the fishing reel. The one-jin heavyweight lead sinker, along with the crab, rapidly descended into the deep depths of the ocean.
Beneath their yacht was a coral community, with the deepest parts being possibly over a hundred meters. It looked a deep blue color, and those with claustrophobia might feel overwhelmed at the sight.
And so deep underwater, the bait obviously couldn’t just sink to the bottom; if a fish darted into the coral, even Lin Yang’s strength would be useless because the sharp corals are almost as cutting as knives, and no matter how strong his line protection buff was, it couldn’t withstand being sliced with a blade.
So, he needed the crab to settle just above the coral heads, as close as possible without touching, which is why sea fishing here also required a certain level of technique.
Observing Lin Yang’s actions, Master Chai nodded to himself. It was apparent that Lin Yang knew how to fish, aware of many details even on his first sea fishing expedition.
Initially, he intended to come over and teach Lin Yang the ropes, but seeing that Lin Yang was fully aware of the precautions for sea fishing, he felt at ease.
However, Li Xiaopeng, on the other hand, was not very familiar with sea fishing.
Master Chai picked up his fishing gear and walked over to him. He was also preparing to sea fish, hoping to earn a little extra on the side.
Of course, their primary task was to provide excellent service to Lin Yang and the others. When Lin Yang paid to charter the boat, it wasn’t just as simple as bringing them over.
"Uncle, you fish over there; I’ll guide him," said the young man next to Li Xiaopeng, upon seeing Master Chai approaching.
Yes, this young man was both Master Chai’s partner and his nephew. After graduating from high school, he didn’t go on to university and instead began making a living by going to sea with Master Chai in Peng City.
Initially, they too engaged in sea fishing.
While fishing might not yield a lot of money, the average income was still much more than what regular office workers made.
Sea fishing is different from freshwater fishing; freshwater fishing masters rely on competitions, videos, or live-streaming to make money, whereas sea fishing masters directly earn from selling their catch.
In recent years, with the price of sea fish increasing, species like common sea bass, black seabream, and yellow sea bream have become more valuable.
Sea bass fetch around 100 yuan per jin, a fat black seabream can sell for about 120 yuan at times, and when lean, still goes for 70-80 yuan per jin. Yellow sea bream generally start at 100 yuan per jin.
In nearshore waters, the cost of a boat trip in fuel is about two to three hundred yuan. Adding the cost of bait, expenses are roughly between four to five hundred yuan. However, catching twenty to thirty fish in a short time can easily bring in a sale of 1500 to 1600 yuan, netting a profit of a thousand.
Of course, with 365 days a year and fair weather half the time, the annual net income can be nearly 100,000 yuan. If luck favors the fishermen with a valuable catch, earnings can be even greater.
Income from deep-sea fishing is indeed considerable. For instance, they often caught true sea breams,
a living true sea bream sold to fishmongers onshore can fetch about 80 yuan per jin. However, if it’s dead, the value is halved to around 40-50 yuan per jin.
And then there’s grouper,
the cheaper green spot and red spot, also known as spot-stripe grouper or diagonal-stripe grouper, sell for around 80 yuan per jin.
Tiger spot, also known as brownspotted grouper, is similarly priced. But large tiger spots can grow to over ten jin, and the high-quality, golden tiger spots can fetch double the price.
Money spot, also called hawksbill stonefish, sell for even more, reaching over a hundred yuan.
There’s also Longdun grouper, although similarly priced, this species grows large and, with size comes rarity, naturally raising the price.
The more expensive groupers include rat spot, East Starfish, Red melon seeds, Blue Gourd Seeds... especially the latter few, which are the tycoons among groupers, very rare in the wild. If one manages to catch one, the price starts at four to five hundred yuan per jin.
Of course, the prices mentioned are for live and wild fishes. If they are dead or farmed, then they are heavily discounted.
But generally speaking, those specializing in deep-sea fishing can break even with five or six fish per trip. If they also take people out to sea, it essentially costs them nothing, and if they land about ten or so fish, a daily income of tens of thousands of yuan is possible.